Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is one of the Solomon Islands, located in the South Pacific. The island was discovered by Spain in 1568 and named for a village near the city of Seville in Andalusia, Spain. In 1893, the United Kingdom established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands and confirmed the island's name in 1932. In May 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army took over the island and attempted to build an airbase at Lunga Point, from which they could launch bombing raids on Australia to the south. The US Marine Corps invaded Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 at Gavutu, and the Marines took over the airbase, which they renamed "Henderson Field". In February 1943, the Japanese were forced to evacuate the island at Cape Esperance, ending Guadalcanal's role in the war. In 1999, violence returned when the Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army was formed to fight against migrants from nearby islands, and Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific nations intervened in 2003 to put an end to the violence. In 1999, the island had a population of 109,382 people.